1978 Harley-Davidson FX (Superglide)

[2Evil4U]

Finally found a picture of my first and second bikes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/bikes.jpg

I was riding the weird minibike in 1980 and worked my way up to the 1978 FX in about 1988. I'm getting the FX from Dad sometime this year and am planning to restore it back to stock. It's still in good condition and runs fine, I just want it back looking like it did in this picture.


That should be a very cool project. I just love the old school bikes.


That exhaust looks like it is from a Kenworth!!!

From the first bikes thread.

I've started gathering parts. Here is the Kenworth exhaust I just picked up. (These things are hard to find. Dad rode his until it rotted away, but most people junked them and converted to dual drag pipes.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/68a61b09.jpg

Here is a picture of approximately what the bike looks like now. Different color and if you really look you can see the non-stock bars. (Although dad still has the originals.) This is from about 1990ish. The bike now has about 80,000 miles in it and has never had the motor out of the frame. (Valve jobs required every 25k but OEM everything else.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1af693aa.jpg

[mattc]

Hell yes. This should be good.

Plus, you can wear your pirate costume with pride again!

[2Evil4U]

Hell yes. This should be good.

Plus, you can wear your pirate costume with pride again!



Again? I wear my chaps proudly almost every day! (Sometimes even on the bike....):gay:

I managed to find a picture of an original 1978 tank showing the OEM tank decals. I'll probably get someone to paint the logo on the tank when I get to that point.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/a9e3a8cf.jpg

[2Evil4U]

A little more information:

1978-FX Super Glide: 1,200cc Shovelhead OHV V-twin with four-speed transmission
1978 Model FX: 1,774 built
Charcoal Silver
(Last year of the Model FX)

What I found interesting was that they built 8314 FXE models and 9787 FXS models with the larger battery and electric start.

Not too many people wanted a kick-only bike even then I guess.

[2Evil4U]

More parts.

When mom & dad were hit by a left-turning drunk driver in 1989, the OEM air cleaner box was destroyed. We got the one off my uncle's 1980 FXS as he had gone to an S&S Super or some other aftermarket carb. Same air box, but it said 80 rather than 1200 on it.

Just found these on E-bay.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/d674bd47.jpg

[Save-the-Manatee]

subscribed.

[2Evil4U]

I did a little more digging. Dad's bike is classified as a 1978-1/2 model.

That was the designation Harley gave the later 1978 models that came with electronic ignition rather than points.

This oughta be fun. I'm hoping to get the bike down here this fall.

[Redbird]

I managed to find a picture of an original 1978 tank showing the OEM tank decals. I'll probably get someone to paint the logo on the tank when I get to that point.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/a9e3a8cf.jpg

Just curious... are you going to put the AMF logo back on?

And you said "get the bike down here..." Where's it at currently?

[2Evil4U]

Just curious... are you going to put the AMF logo back on?

And you said "get the bike down here..." Where's it at currently?

Sure am. I'd like to get it back to showroom original. Conveniently, dad still has most of the original stuff it came with.

It's at mom & dad's in Connecticut. Dad still rides it now and again, but with his '37 Ford Street Rod and the '71 El Camino he's just about finished, mom's been bugging him to get rid of it.

[2Evil4U]

Been a long pause on this one. Mom was a bit pissy last fall after my accident and wouldn't bring it down for me. Seems she has relented and hopefully they will bring it down this fall when they visit again. It's still running and I'm still gathering parts.

[chopt]

SHOVEL-HEAD = bullet proof. That's a great project to work on and a great piece of history to have. When you're ready for paint on the tank I know the perfect person to do it. My next project will either be a Pan or the Shovel depending on which I can get the better deal on, 4 speed, no battery and kick only.

[2Evil4U]

When I get it here and get to that point, I'll be in touch.

If he's got time, I'll have him do the fenders as well.

[Redbird]

Cool, can't wait to see it :D

The reason I asked about the AMF logo is that I know the Die-hard HD guys don't consider the AMF bikes to be "Real Harleys". Although I wonder how many of them could ID an AMF bike if it didn't have the logo on it :rolleyes:
Personally I think a bike is a bike, vintage is cool, and inheriting your Dads bike trumps all.

[chopt]

The AMF years were looked down upon by some but, Shovels will never be looked at as an outcast. IMHO, which I'm not a die hard HD follower, them older motors are what's nostalgic. And from the bikers I rode with over the years, HD sold out and didn't carry alot of clout, which inturn turned many away as much as the AMF years did. As Redbird said, getting Dads old bike to refurb, trumps all cliche's. 80+thousand miles, I say let's go thru the motor top to bottom and make this thing a piece of history some people only dream to have while parts are still accessible. potato-potato-potato-potato, I remember when they(HD) went to court to patent that sound. NO-ONE will ever or has ever matched the rumble you feel when you stradle an "old school Harley".
Here's one I built for a customer in 07 to replicate the old school look that they're known for but, without the Shovel or Pan it's just another Rigid.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii112/captrivers/Choppers/2008NewYear145.jpg

[2Evil4U]

So, after my splat on 9/17/2009 mom was in no mood to bring me the FX. She threatened to sell it. At the time I called her bluff and said, if that's what you have to do, then I won't argue. (I was the one who had spent two days in intensive care, after all.)

Well, she arrived this afternoon. She still starts on the second kick and runs great. All of the pieces are here and I've got the correct exhaust already. I've got a few things I need to do to the house this year so I can claim the tax credits, so I probably won't really dig in until next year, but she's here at last.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/IMG_3394-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/IMG_3392-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/IMG_3391-1.jpg

[I_FLY_LOW]

doesn't look to be bad at all, from the pics.
I guess there's more than meets the eye, that doesn't stand out to me.

[2Evil4U]

Oh it's not bad at all. I'd wager to say that it is probably one of the least molested 1978.5 Superglides on earth. (33 year old bike with nearly 75000 miles on it.)

I'm actually a bit torn about doing a full frame-off on it. I may just put the original pegs back on it, (We kept them.) troubleshoot the electrical issues, have the original speedo refurbished, (We kept that too), reinstall the OEM exhaust and keep it as an honest survivor.

Still need to get it painted like original, but I've got some things to think about anyway.

[mattc]

That's rad. I'd love to have something like that.

[LAYNFRM]

that's exactly (78.5 and all) the same bike my dad had. i'd love to do the same thing your doing and get one and restore it similar to how his was.

[BigJohnD]

Hell yes. This should be good.

Plus, you can wear your pirate costume with pride again!

You crack me up....

[Dusty]

Very nice!

[2Evil4U]

It is a wonderful late autumn day here in Southern Louisiana. Bright sun. A bit of wind. About 80 degrees. And I'm off work. Dragged the bike out of the garage, threw some insurance on it, geared up and went out for a shakedown ride.

Here's the route I took:

<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=E+Railroad+Ave&daddr=30.7682271,-91.1646871+to:30.7552332,-91.2914584+to:30.8002562,-91.2539694+to:30.82673,-91.25688+to:30.8954261,-91.2830972+to:30.8703449,-91.3648786+to:Church+St&geocode=FXW41AEd_ESR-g%3BFWN81QEd8e-Q-ilRFsaZsIMmhjHs4fKO49kIWw%3BFaFJ1QEdvgCP-imh4dJS1C4khjG6PRqgyim2Cg%3BFYD51QEdL5OP-iktZlPAfikkhjFu7rZfrQmlyw%3BFepg1gEd0IeP-inR6r8TtyskhjFOwteajAmisQ%3BFUJt1wEdZyGP-intBqNlqdQlhjFgvoyNdU5JQg%3BFUgL1wEd8uGN-inrVg4tXy0khjH3uk9LbBA8Vw%3BFQK51AEdHjqR-g&hl=en&mra=dvme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=14&via=1,2,3,4,5,6&sll=30.880644,-91.282825&sspn=0.058268,0.07699&ie=UTF8&ll=30.797,-91.259308&spn=0.233273,0.307961&z=12">Click for map.</a>

The bike started pretty well, maybe about 10-15 kicks. And, of course, since it's been sitting for a month, the first thing it did was puke oil all over my boot. I should know better. One of the things that is going to get changed on this thing is I'm pulling that check valve and plugging it.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/?action=view&current=CIMG3434.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/CIMG3434.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

The ride was uneventful. The brakes are scary bad. But then again, they've never been good. It rode well enough for what it is. Only a few things that really need fixing that I've noticed so far. Tach needs to be rebuilt. Original speedo needs to be rebuilt so it can be reinstalled. Clutch lever needs to be aluminum rather than chrome finish to match the rest of the handle. Neutral light is out. Front brake light switch needs to be repaired. New tires & tubes.

That's the bulk of it. I'm going to reinstall the OEM pegs to put it back to stock.

Here are a few pictures from the road.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/?action=view&current=CIMG3429.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/CIMG3429.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/?action=view&current=CIMG3428.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/CIMG3428.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/?action=view&current=CIMG3430.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/CIMG3430.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/?action=view&current=CIMG3432.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/CIMG3432.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/?action=view&current=CIMG3433.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/CIMG3433.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

That's a pretty good introduction to Louisiana for the bike. It seems to like it.

I stalled it once exiting the driveway where I took the last pictures. Took about twenty kicks to get it going again, but she finally fired back up.

One thing it does not like is running faster than about 55mph. I think that I'm going to go up a tooth in the front and down at least two in the back to help out with highway speeds when I change out the original sprockets. It won't like getting off the line much, but it should be a little nicer to ride on more open roads.

[I_FLY_LOW]

That's cool...
At least someone's able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather.

[mattc]

Very nice. Gotta love kick starting a bike, really makes you appreciate the ride.

[Juice]

Very cool Aaron!!!!

[2Evil4U]

Well, I looked around to try to find an OEM speedo for the bike, but nothing out there in the aftermarket looks even close to the original unit. So, I figured, it's already broken, how much more damage can I do to it by taking it apart, right?

The unit is a Japanese POS that is hermetically sealed by the bezel at the factory. It is not made for disassembly. I've never met a thin sheet of stainless steel that I couldn't bend with a pry bar, so, I grabbed a flathead screw driver and went to work.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/?action=view&amp;current=CIMG3445.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/CIMG3445.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/?action=view&amp;current=CIMG3446.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/CIMG3446.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

After about twenty minutes, I had the bezel off and the gauge mechanism came right out. It's main problem was that it was filthy. In addition, the drive assembly had broken loose from its crimp to the backplate and was not allowing the weird little magnetic doohickey actuate the needle correctly.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/?action=view&amp;current=CIMG3447.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/CIMG3447.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

After cleaning it up I started thinking about how I could stabilize the drive unit and came up with an external strap that is held in place by the original screws that hold the guts to the main housing.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/?action=view&amp;current=CIMG3448.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/CIMG3448.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

While I was in there I also added the mileage from the other two odometers to it so it should be pretty darned close to actual.

I then set about re crimping the bezel with a pair of needle nose pliers and finally after about two hours of fiddling with it, I think it looks pretty passable.

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/?action=view&amp;current=CIMG3449.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/2evil4u/1978%20FX%20Rebuild/CIMG3449.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Took it out for a test ride and while the odometer was pretty much right on, the speedo was reading high. When I got it home after a little drama. (The choke plate popped out of the mechanism and closed on me. Luckily I was just getting to a gas station about 2 miles from the house so Mona was able to bring me the tool bag and I got it back going in a few minutes.)

After getting home, I was screwing around with the drive cable and all of a sudden it seated much farther into the speedo drive than it had before. Now the whole thing seems to fit properly. I took it for a quick spin up the driveway and back and I think it is working correctly now.

I'm re-hydrating as it's 80 degrees and kicking that thing before I realized what happened to the choke wore me a bit out.

Once I rehydrate, I'm going to take it out for another quick spin to see if it is OK or is still reading high.

[allanj255]

That looks a nice ride - most Harleys here are up to the tits in chrome add ons, your's got a nice old school style - would love to see the novo Harley guys over here try to kick it over!

[2Evil4U]

Thanks! That's going to be one of the more difficult aspects of this "rebuild". Finding non-chrome pieces to replace the worn out stuff. With the exception of the pipes, bars, horn and shifter lever, there was really no chrome to speak of when this thing was new.

Kicking it is really not bad. It's a low compression motor, so it kicks through easily straddling the bike. (I hate to see people kicking these bikes from the right side. They end up over kicking and frigging up the stop peg for the kicker.)

She can be a bit temperamental at times, though.

[2Evil4U]

Strapped a GPS to the dash and went out to recheck the speedo. It is very smooth and is pretty close at low speeds but gets progressively further out as the speeds pick up. I think I may have left some WD40 in the little magnetic cup and that is causing extra drag. I'm going to try to get a small compressed air hose in through one of the holes in the back of the case to see if I can clean it out before I end up taking the bezel off again.

[2Dogs]

If I was going to ride a Harley it would be a Super Glide.

[I_FLY_LOW]

not sure if you can use this, but FYI...
http://batonrouge.craigslist.org/mcy/2085992162.html

[2Evil4U]

Been awhile, but here's an update. I've been starting it every month or so to try to keep the oil in the tank rather than on the ground. Increasing the spring rate on the check ball in the oil pump seems to have helped some but it will still puke a bit if it sits too long.

Just ordered tires, tubes and rim strips for it. It will be nice to get the correct size tires on it again. It is not easy to find the correct front tire for this bike.

Now I need to build something to support the beast so I can have the wheels off for an extended period and get started on the cleaning/parts replacement.

[I_FLY_LOW]

What about one fo these?
http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-lb-capacity-atv-motorcycle-lift-2792.html
if the frame at the bottom, is flat, it'll lift it fine.
Worked on the klr, and dr's...

[2Evil4U]

Hmmmh. That looks like it's just cheap enough to work.

[2Evil4U]

Guess I waited too long between starts. The primary was full this morning and now the clutch is stuck together. I got it started no problem. Much easier with a squirt of lighter fluid in the carb. (I still need to rebuild the accelerator pump.)

I just printed out what I need to do to plug off that drain and then I looked up to see if anyone makes a belt drive primary conversion that will fit in the original case. BDL does. It's not cheap at $690, but that comes with a new input bearing and a new dry clutch. That should fix that and it will still look original.